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10 Years and 4 Themes of FIFI

Though a long-time reader of FIFI, I joined as a regularly contributing author not long ago. It has been a joy for me to re-visit the FIFI blog on this date in its first year of publication and think about how events of the past 9 years confirm the need for FIFI long into the future.

A decade ago

The FIFI blog was launched at the end of August 2012. Almost a year later, the August 25, 2013 post invited readers to submit to a special issue of the International Journal of Feminist Approaches to Bioethics: See How She Runs: Feminists Rethink Fitness (Spring 2016).

Co-blog/issue editors Samantha Brennan and Tracy Issacs describe how the special issue—like the still-new blog from which it emerged—looks critically at the impact of fitness on women and “the very assumptions about what constitutes ‘fitness’ in the first place” (p. 3).

In forms of writing both scholarly and personal, the articles surface four key and connected themes related to fitness and feminism:

  • Equality – the gender disparity that starts in childhood and widens in adulthood,
  • Inclusivity – the exclusion of women and minorities from domains of sport and the lack of diversity in the fitness media,
  • Empowerment – competitive sports, body performance, and the linking of sports to personal confidence and public life, and
  • Aesthetics and feminine embodiment – the complex relationship between women, their fitness goals, and their bodies.

These themes have since featured prominently as the cardinal compass points guiding thousands of FIFI blog posts by more than 165 authors over the last 9 years.

Nearly a decade later

FIFI continues to examine and re-define fitness from an anti-homophobic, anti-racist, anti-ableist feminist lens. Over the last decade, this blog has helped readers to reflect on the many history-making moments in sports and fitness. Here are just a few:

Equality: Since 2013, wage and other gaps between men and women in sports (like basketball, surfing, and hockey) have been spotlighted. For instance, in 2017 the women’s hockey team announced a boycott of the world championship if U.S.A. Hockey did not increase the women’s wages. Despite greater attention to inequality, gender gap in sports participation, funding, and media attention still continues.

Inclusivity: Athletes have become more vocal about gender, race, and mental health in sports. For example, in the media gymnast Simone Biles confronted the myth of the strong black woman affecting women athletes of colour. Tennis player Naomi Osaka also articulated the need to address depression, burnout, and toxic spaces that athletes face. Yet, CAMH notes that stigma continues to be attached to mental illness as a sign of unfitness in sports.

As well, inclusivity and diversity in sports are subject to ever-changing rule books. Since 2013, some rules have shifted to promote greater inclusion, while others have not—such as the recent exclusion of transwomen athletes from sports such as rugby, swimming, and track and field.

Empowerment: Over the last few years, research has found that gentle exercise benefits women, especially at older ages. A greater focus on happiness and health, as well as recovery time, has also appeared in emerging fitness research. Social media movements addressing fat bias, such as #StrongNotSkinny, have helped to shift how women relate to athletic performance and body acceptance as a form of self-empowerment.

Aesthetics and feminine embodiment: And yet, also since 2013 more fitness influencers have greater…well, influence…than ever before on idealized body norms and commodified aesthetics. Gear such as fitness trackers have been lauded for helping women to be more fit. But their use may be concerning for reasons of data privacy and whether this tech actually matches women’s wellness and fitness goals in the first place.

A decade (or more) more

What has changed since the first year of FIFI is a more collaborative approach to publication. Under the continued leadership of Samantha, a larger collection of blog authors help to manage the blog while being a supportive global writing community for each other.

Our reading community is larger since 2013 too—tens of thousands of subscribers, readers, likers, commenters, and sharers from around the world. (We appreciate you all!!)

And yet, like the special issue the blog is a mosaic of diverse reflections that encourages making the world of fitness—and the many lived experiences of that world—more equal, inclusive, empowering, and embodied for everyone.

A decade goes by quickly, but this brief retrospective on key themes and tiny number of big fitness events show us the value of the FIFI blog then, now, and well into the future.

blog · blogging · fitness · schedule

Turning over a new leaf! The blog has a new schedule

What are the changes that prompted the new schedule? Kim is stepping away from a regular blog commitment but will post as/when inspired. Bettina is back from parental leave but is re-joining gradually with one post a month. Mina, Susan, and Nat are also posting once a month. Some of the blog regulars are moving to have a consistent day–I’m Mondays, Cate is Thursdays, and Catherine is Sundays. Others are keeping a regular day but writing every other week. That’s Martha, Christine, Marjorie, and Nicole.

Thing were getting messy and it was starting to be harder than usual to keep track of who was supposed to be posting and when. We’re hoping this makes it easier.

See the guest spots? That’s where you can come and join us if you like. Read about how to do that here.

Week 1

Monday: Sam

Tuesday: Christine

Wednesday: Mina

Thursday: Cate

Friday: Martha

Saturday: Nat

Sunday: Catherine

Week 2

Monday: Sam

Tuesday: Marjorie

Wednesday: Nicole

Thursday: Cate

Friday: Guest

Saturday: Bettina

Sunday: Catherine

Week 3

Monday: Sam

Tuesday: Christine

Wednesday: Catherine

Thursday: Cate

Friday: Martha

Saturday: Guest

Sunday: Catherine

Week 4

Monday: Sam

Tuesday: Marjorie

Wednesday: Nicole

Thursday: Cate

Friday, Susan

Saturday: Guest

Sunday: Catherine

Hanging fall leaves.
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Versatile Blogger Award

versatile blogger award badge
versatile blogger award badge

Thanks to Holly at Comparative Geeks for nominating us for “The Versatile Blogger Award.” We hadn’t anticipated the sense of community and connection the blog would provide for us, not just in terms of others who are interested in fitness and feminism, but in the blogosphere more generally.  So thank you, Holly!  We happily accept the award and pass it on to others.

The rules of accepting the award are:

  • Display the award on your blog
  • Announce your win with a post and thank the blogger who nominated you.
  • Present 15 deserving bloggers with the award.
  • Link your nominees in the post and let them know of their nomination with a comment.
  • Post seven things about yourself.

Here are fifteen blogs that Sam and I read and would like to nominate for the Versatile Bloggers Award. Not all of them are about fitness or about feminism. But they’re all smart blogs with good writing.  Don’t feel obligated to respond to our nomination.  We’re happy enough just to keep reading your blogs!

We blog about ourselves quite a bit, but it’s a condition of the versatile blogger award that we post seven things about ourselves. So here goes!

Tracy’s Seven Things

  • Besides my MA and PhD in Philosophy, I have a Master’s of Fine Arts in Creative Writing (Lesley 2008) and it’s the degree I’m most proud of and had the most fun doing.
  • My mother wanted to name me Zoe but opted for Tracy instead. I often wonder if I’d be a different person (maybe more quirky or funky?) if I’d been named Zoe.
  • I’ve had lots of shitty jobs, including restaurant, hotel and bar work in Switzerland, Greece, and Toronto. The service industry is not my forte.
  • Cycling on roads, even quiet country roads, still scares me a lot and I’m not sure I’ll ever get over it.  There really isn’t anything you can say to alleviate that fear, so don’t bother trying.
  • I’ve written a novel and done nothing with it (yet) and if I do, it’ll probably publish under a pseudonym.
  • I’m obsessed with cookbooks, recipes, and vegan food blogs. And I love to experiment with new recipes and just generally spend time in the kitchen.
  • Morning is my favourite time of day, except on weekends and vacations, when I like all times of day equally.

Sam’s Seven Things

  • I’m a philosopher first and foremost but I’m intellectually omnivorous. I started in Journalism, switched to Political Science, and then Philosophy. My undergrad degree was Honours Philosophy with a Religious Studies minor. These days I can supervise dissertations in Women’s Studies, Philosophy, and Political Science.
  • I was named after the “Samantha” in a movie. High Society, actually. The lead was called “Tracy Samantha.” Everyone guesses “Bewitched” but those Samanthas are younger.
  • I am writing a paper on Miss Piggy’s body positive feminism for an anthology about Philosophy and the Muppets.
  • I was born and grew up in cold, dark places (north of England, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia) but I love the sun.
  • I’ve been active on the web for a very long time. I was blogging back when they were actually referred to as “web logs.” I had a homepage before my university department had a homepage.
  • I had pink and purple hair for a time in the 80s.
  • I own 5 bicycles (cyclocross, road, fixie, track, mtb) but I crave more. Would love a girly cruiser bike and a cargo bike.